Aural Fixation

Soundtracking the Heebie-jeebies

A Voodoo ritual mixtape

I was born in a swamp. OK, I was actually born in a well-appointed hospital in Alexandria, La. But I did grow up in Cloutierville, a 500-person village, until I was 13. The population there was largely Louisiana Creole, but I would almost never overhear adults talking about Louisiana Voodoo, Haitian Vodou or southern hoodoo aka conjure/folk magic. Undeterred by that unfortunate situation, I've always been enthralled by the ritual. Musing about the two Catholic-syncretist religions and the folk spirituality of hoodoo evokes gooseflesh-raising blues songs about ritual and superstition. Celebrate Friday the 13th with guess-how-many tracks, each including spooky tagline. Draw the shades, light a candle and drop the virtual needle on 13 below.